


Haircut

by MeeemWho



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21802669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeeemWho/pseuds/MeeemWho
Summary: A short character study in an alternate universe where Edelgard is ejected from her throne and left to survive as an outcast.A.K.A. my feral Edelgard AU. Takes place during the five year timeskip.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Haircut

**Author's Note:**

> Ty for reading and a minor warning for depictions of depression. This is part of a larger AU i have in mind so let me know if you have any questions.

The candlelight was burning low now in the Middleston Bar. The good sir Middleston himself, only knighted by his regulars, sat turning the coals in the center hearth.

The first snow of the season was sticking to his windows, bringing with it the usual packs of people looking to warm their core with meads and liqueurs. He was grateful that his sons seemed to understand the importance of their hospitality to each and evedy consumer. One nice word of advice or one drink more could mean another patron to stay in his inn upstairs.

He looked around, gaguing the state of his business.

In total he had ten handmade and hand polished tables scattered around the floor. Only three remained free of patrons, the rest occupied by a mixture of farmer, worker, and traveler alike. Behind him the bar of twenty seats was scarcely populated. Only a single patron - a regular, Pat was her name - sat nursing a strong wine.

A creak of wood alerted him to another customer entering his tavern. Over the din of chatter he heard his twins echo a greeting to the customer before returning to their tasks.

The good owner Middleston took it upon himself to take a good look at the stranger walking to the bar.

She wasn't much older than his twins, perhaps a year or two over twenty judging by her face. Her unusually pale hair was pulled tightly out of her face by a ponytail that seemed to be turning into a single mat. She wore gray armor and boasted a drape of furs and feathers around her shoulders.

Mr. Middleston sent up a silent prayer that she had at least bathed sometime before the frost. She didn't stand out too much from the usual traveler, but even he could see the stares she was getting from his other patrons.

"Do you have rooms?" She asked as she approached the bar. Her voice sounded cracked and faded, as if she hadn't used it in a few days.

"Of course." He replied with a smile. "It's seven gold for the night, three more for a meal and extra firewood for the night."

He kept this haggle low, despite the demand he was sure to get as the night dragged on. She obviously needed out of the cold but judging by the packs on her side, she could weather a storm if pressed.

"Just the room please." She replied.

As she rummaged into her pocket, she paused to think.

"How much for a warm bath?" She asked, sliding over seven gold.

"Just two."

She nodded and slid over another double of gold coins. He flipped them into his palm and into the safety of his pocket.

"I'll go ahead and tell one of my boys to prepare it for you." Middleston gestured to the bar. "Please, have a seat and perhaps a drink. I'll hand you the key when your room is ready."

She nodded, turning and pulling out a stool three away from Pat. Now, Pat was a friendly type, she could get along with nearly everyone and anyone given a chance.

And all she did was slide her glass towards Mr. Middleston, silently asking for another glass.

And as he poured that glass he did not see the man in black enter silently through the door. He did not see the shadow slide into an empty booth and look over his well kept establishment, silently judging and preparing.

He did not see how one of his patrons quickly stepped out, recognizing a man that most people believed was dead.

\-----

Edelgard winced as she tried to take out her hair tie. Each time she felt the strip of ribbon in her grasp she would be met with another mat of hair pulling at her scalp. It had been days, no, weeks since she was last able to put a brush through her hair.

She knew that her appearance was getting too many looks recently. She was used to people looking at her with contempt and pity, but now she lacked the will to scare them away by meeting their eyes.

She sighed and put her hands down. Her palms glistened from the water still present from her bath. As she stared, another drop of water - or was it sweat - dripped down onto the sheets of her rented bed.

It felt as if every time she moved her fingers she was only growing weaker.

And she knew she only had to do one thing to get help. Even though she had screamed and cried and threatened him to leave her be years ago.

"Hubert." She spoke into the quiet of the room.

There was silence for a moment. The only sound was the muffled chatter of drunken patrons through the walls.

Then, there was a quiet knock at the door.

"Enter."

A creek and then the lock shut behind her. She didn't even bother to turn around as light footsteps approached her.

"Please… help me cut my hair."

There was a moment of silence before a too familiar voice replied.

"Of course, Lady Edelgard."

She felt a hand on her back, pushing her gently onto her feet and towards the small desk pushed into the corner of her room. She barely even registered the grays and blacks of his clothes to be different than his academy uniform as she turned to sit down. There was the rasp of blades being sharpened and then a gentle tug at her ponytail.

"Shall I untangle this?"

"No." She replied.

She winced in pain as he tugged the matts for a second before bringing a pair of scissors together with a snip. He adjusted it once more and gave another cut.

And then the pressure building at her forehead ceased. She leaned forwards and didn't feel a single tuft of hair scratching the back of her neck.

She didn't move again as Hubert (her companion? her watcher?) began to comb through her hair. His hands now bare and gently untangling the knots on the top of her head. He ran his fingers through it a few times before bringing up the scissors again and coming close to her ears.

It went like this for what seemed like hours: he would find a knot of hair, attempt to untangle it, and when he found it too difficult, he would cut her hair even shorter.

"It is done." Hubert finally said.

Edelgard simply brought her hand up to her head and ran her fingers through her hair. Or, at least, the longer area at the top of her head. On the sides she only felt a short crop of fuzz where it once grew down to her chest.

"Thank you." She said, addressing him after he had cleaned the floors for her. She closed her eyes again as she heard the footsteps exit and the door lock once again.

She remembered a time when she took care to wrap her hair in a braid every night before she went to sleep. She remembered how many compliments girls would pay to her as they admired her hair. There was a time where it was just a part of her routine, when it didn't feel like a useless task to untangle knots to make herself look good.

Edelgard held her hands to her bare neck.

Surely, it was a lifetime ago.


End file.
